Chapter Text
The pain is what finally woke Spamton up from his unconscious sleep. His head was absolutely throbbing in agony, but when he went to cradle it, his arms screamed in complete torment.
It was just too much.
He threw up.
After a few painful coughs and catching his breath, Spamton was trying to remember what could have caused his current predicament. Painfully craning his neck, he looked around and vaguely recognized the place.
Was he... in Queen's basement? How… How did he get here? He winced, even thinking was starting to hurt and tried gazing around despite the discomfort it brought him. He just wanted to go home, to find one of his many dumpster he camps in and sleep this off.
He hissed in pain as he accidentally bent his neck at an unusual angle. Was it always this flexible? He couldn't really remember. Everything about him felt off. His body felt strangely heavier than he was used to, and he could've sworn that the room was smaller now. He did notice that he was lying on abandoned train tracks, which definitely didn't help his comfort. He tried to move again, stretching an arm out to drag himself off the tracks. Spamton noticed that his limb seemed unusually long as well, as it reached far beyond what he was used too. He was sure the constant torment he felt was just messing with his head now, and tried to lift his other arm.
It didn't respond.
He painfully craned his neck to see that the arm in question was hanging out of its socket. He wondered if he would have to see a doctor for that. With one limb out of service, maybe he could get up using his legs. He retracted his one working arm to push himself up.
He was nowhere near ready for the agonizing pain that followed. He only barely managed to get up on his feet on his tenth attempt, and stumbled to the nearest wall. He braced himself using his good arm as the familiar sensation started once again in the pit of his stomach. He violently vomited, and noticed what he was spewing was pitch black under the dim yellow and pink lights that illuminated the place. Since when did they install lights? No… that doesn't matter, he just needed to get out of here now.
Spamton took a wobbly step forward, using the wall as a support. He was sure he would have fallen if he didn't. There was a strange heavy weight on his back that threw him off balance, forcing him to slouch so he wouldn't topple over. Taking long and wheezy breaths, he moved his other leg to start his long trek out of the dark basement.
Spamton screamed in agony as his leg snapped under his own weight. Leaning on the cold bricks of the basement walls, he peered down. His leg was oozing black liquid everywhere, and he was somewhat sure that his foot wasn't supposed to face that way. He briefly wondered if he should see a doctor for that too. Spamton pressed on despite the extreme pain. His drive to go home was too powerful to ignore. Finding the passage way back, he managed to squeeze himself in the now narrow hallway, his body scraping the walls as he walked.
Relief washed over him when he reached the basement's blue door. Spamton reached the door knob to open it but the door just shattered at his touch, tearing apart like paper. Strange, he didn't remember the doors in here to be so… weak, or that small for that matter. He had managed to get his head and his working arm through, but the rest of his body got stuck on the door frame somehow. He dug his fingers in the ground and kept pulling himself. Eventually the wall above the door gave away, and Spamton slowly rose up and hobbled away as fast as he could. If he lingered too long, a swatchling might find him, and they wouldn't hesitate to beat the poor salesmen on sight. He was, after all, trespassing. Spamton made it to the front door before an ear splitting scream made him wince in pain. He barely managed to catch a glimpse of a red suit running away up the stairs. Wasn't that one of the butlers? Why where they running away? He didn't stick around too long as whatever scared the swatchling was probably still around. He ran out, with one arm trailing uselessly behind him.
Spamton ducked into the nearest alleyway once he left the vicinity of Queen's mansion. He lost count how many times he threw up as he pushed himself to his limit. He needed to keep moving. Navigating Cyber City's backstreet was easy for the salesman, and he only had one direction in mind. The safety of his dumpster beckoned him, he just needed to keep his legs moving forward. He just had to ignore the pain and ignore the static creeping around his vision.
But he couldn't seem to ignore the constant gnawing in his stomach.
God, he was so hungry.
It felt like ages since he last ate. Spamton felt his mouth salivating at the mere thought of food. He felt it dribble down on his chin, at least, he hoped it was spit. The metallic taste in his mouth told him otherwise.
Alleyways after alleyways he stumbled in, until he finally reached his destination. The green of the dumpster felt welcoming, but as Spamton approached his safe haven, he couldn't help but notice how small it looked. Before he had trouble reaching the lid, now he towered over the damn thing. It perplexed him, but the rumbling pain in his gut brought him back to more important matters. He slammed the lid open, unused to how suddenly light it now felt, and stretched his neck in. He grabbed a few of the garbage bags and began tearing them open.
Scavenging for food wasn't something new for Spamton, and he had no shame rooting around in someone's garbage for table scraps. But this pain in his gut was something completely new. This...ravenous hunger drove him mad now, overshadowing any other pain his body felt. It took over him as he shoved god knows what in his waiting maw. He just wanted his stomach to stop hurting. It didn't take long for him to demolish the garbage bags he brought out, throwing them aside.
He needed more.
Spamton creaked open the dumpster's lid, and slipped inside, letting it slam shut behind him.
______
"Thank you!! Come again!!" smiled Videe, waving at the last customer exiting her shop. Once they were out, she quickly locked the doors and flipped her open sign to close. She sighed, resting her back on the door, her pink skin practically sweating with relief.
"I thought they would never leave." she sighed. It was one hell of a day. There was news that apparently, actual real flesh and blood Lightners were seen around town. Darkners, like herself, only ever saw them as faceless beings with their username floating above their heads. She had hoped to meet one today, their mere presence being a once in a lifetime sight. But alas, she had a job to do and a store to manage. Videe stretched her arms, all that was left to do now was stock up, clean, and count today's earnings. She was looking forward to going home to her penthouse, to finally relax after today. She gave herself a well deserved, week long vacation to let herself completely unwind.
Hours later, once all of her tasks were completed and her store locked up and secured, she left by the backdoor leading into the alleyway and locked it behind her. Videe couldn't wait to go home and finally catch up on her favourite TV series tonight. She had to beg her three other brothers to not spoil anything, a true miracle, since they wouldn't keep their mouths shut about it all week. Humming a tune and pocketing her key, she thought to herself that nothing could possibly ruin this night.
She only managed to turn around before stepping in a puddle of oil. She groaned angrily as she lifted her foot, inspecting the damage. Her new shoes were completely ruined. The black substance's already staining them beyond saving. She grumbled a curse and looked around the alleyway for a possible culprit.
"What the hell?" she said under her breath. The entire alley, starting from somewhere in the direction of the Queen's mansion and going deeper downtown, was covered in oil. Just what in the world happened here? Did something just explode? Or leaked everywhere? She vaguely remembered a customer telling her that there was a giant mecha fight that happened this afternoon. It got pretty intense, so maybe some of its oil or something landed here during the scuffle?
Eventually, curiosity got the better of her, she needed to know who was responsible for this mess and maybe wrangle out 10 000 dark dollars out of them to pay for a new pair of clean shoes. Adjusting her purse, Videe headed deeper in the alleyway.
The trail of black oil twisted through the maze of Cyber City's dark buildings. It fascinated her that whoever made this mess knew exactly where to go to avoid busy roads. She pondered why, but a loud clanging noise startled her out of her train of thought.
Dead ahead, was a single dumpster.
With the oil spill leading straight into it.
Garbage was thrown carelessly around. Some bags were even ripped open and its contents spilling everywhere. Videe approached it carefully. The noise of scrapping metal getting louder as she got closer.
Something was definitely moving around in there.
It must be a stray tasque, she thought, there's no way someone would willingly live in the trash. Poor thing must be starving if it's scavenging garbage. Videe wondered if the helpless animal was the one responsible for the trail of oil somehow. Maybe it fell in and ran all the way here to hide. She shrugged to herself, with the mystery now appearing to be solved, she reached in her purse and pulled out her leftover lunch in a paper bag. Maybe she could lure it out and try and capture it? A bath would do it good if it was covered in oil. Videe popped open her spaghetti code container and looked up at the dumpster.
"Here, kitty kitty!" she called, once she was close enough to the bin, "I have food here if you're hungry."
The noise stopped at the sound of her voice. It was listening to her, she knew, but was probably too scared to show itself. "It's okay! You don't need to come out." she said, soothingly. "I'll just leave it out here for you."
She placed her lunch bag on the ground in front of the dumpster, and Videe took a few steps back, "There, it's just some leftover spaghetti code, but it has to be better than garbage scraps." she smiled, hoping for the animal to maybe poke its head out but no such luck. It was still too terrified to move probably.
"Alright, I'll just- I'll just leave.. now" she said to the animal, then immediately hid beside the dumpster. Videe crouched down, ready to catch the poor thing. She felt bad possibly traumatizing it for a second time but at least it wouldn't be covered in oil once it was given a nice clean bath.
Minutes passed and the tasque still didn't come out of the dumpster. Her legs were cramping up.Videe sighed in defeat. She'll have to check up on it tomorrow on her day off because right now, it wasn't budging. Slowly she got up, her aching limbs making their complaints known to her.
Suddenly, the lid of the dumpster creaked open.
It startled Videe into crouching again, much to her legs dismay. This was it! The poor tasque was just being cautious, waiting until the coast was clear before investigating. She heard it shift around in the metal box. It sounded big, must be one of those bigger tasque like she'd seen at the mansion once. How it got all the way out here in the city was another mystery. Videe peaked around the corner, expecting the silky white and blue fur of the animal. When she didn't see the stray feline on the ground, she looked up where the lid was slightly opened.
Her face fell and she quickly covered her mouth to suppress a scream.
A giant, white clawed hand made its way out of the dumpster and was followed by a deep pink coloured arm. The arm itself seemed to lack any bones, as it slithered further out of the dumpster like a snake. It settled on the ground beside Videe, clicking it's sharp talons on the pavement before groping around, looking for something. She watched as the hand moved around the ground, until its pinky finger grazed her lunch bag and it flinched in response. It hovered close to the bag for a minute, as if thinking, before slowly feeling around for it. The long slender fingers prodded the lunch bag gently a couple of times and once it confirmed where its prize was, the hand placed itself above it. Videe nearly yelped when the hand suddenly and violently came down. It grabbed the lunch bag, crushing it and clawing the pavement in the process, and retreated quickly back into the dumpster, the force of the movement rocking the heavy metal bin. She stared and the deep grooves in the ground, shocked at the ferocity of its actions. Whatever was inside was completely tearing apart her lunch. It didn't seem to care that it completely flattened the lunch bag as she heard it chewing the glass of her spaghetti code container.
Videe couldn't stop shaking.
She needed to get out of here.
Whatever was in there was definitely not an animal and definitely dangerous. While it was preoccupied, Videe carefully got up from her shaking legs without making a sound, and slowly walked away from the dumpster. She just needed to make it at the end of the alley and turn the corner, then she could run home and start barricading her door. She pondered if she should call the Ambyu-Lance. They could take care of that thing, right? What is even a virus? Could they even do anything
The loud clanging from within the dumpster made her jump. Videe turned to look as she continued moving and failed to notice one of the discarded eggplant-shaped trash bags at her feet. She trips, and yells a surprised "Oh shit!" as she falls, landing hard on her side.
The alleyway became deadly silent.
Videe held her breath, she could only hear the blood pumping in her ears as she stared, unblinking at the dumpster.
The lid creaked open once more, and one by one, the long clawed fingers slid out and gripped the rim, leaving scratch marks in the metal. A yellow and pink light beamed from inside the dumpster, searching for the source of the noise. It didn't take long for the light to fall on her.
Videe ran.
She didn't turn around when the dumpster lid slammed open and the thing tumbled out, bringing the dumpster down with it. She could hear its claws scramble on the ground as it tried to get up. Adrenaline fueled her, motorized heart beating wildly in her chest as she dreaded the worse if she was caught.
The thing finally untangled itself from the tipped over dumpster. It's eyes never once lost focused on Videe's sprinting figure getting away. It wheezed and coughed before clumsily running after her. It easily closed the distance, catching up to Videe in mere seconds. It extended a clawed hand towards her, ready to grasp its target, but Videe quickly ducked and skidded around the corner of the alley. Whatever was chasing her didn't react fast enough and crashed into the wall, its body following it like a derailed train before it collapsed on the ground.
Videe tripped and landed harshly on her hands and knees when it made impact with the building. She got up again despite the pain, ready to run at a moment's notice, and turned to look at the culprit. When the dust finally settled, Videe couldn't help but stare in shock.
The thing that chased her was a big, humanoid looking machine. A singular heavy metal pink wing protruded from its back, the tips painted in yellow. The other wing was ripped off, with lose wires dangled from it's stub, letting out sparks every few seconds. Infact, the more she looked at the robot, the more she became convinced that it was already severely damaged even before crashing. There were several deep gashes around its body, all of them leaking the same black, oil-like substance that was everywhere in the alleyway. One of its legs was bending in an unnatural angle, and one of its arms seemed to hang loose from its socket. Exposed wires were the only thing connecting the arm to the rest of the body.
What really bothered Videe was the thing's head. It was bleeding oil everywhere, clearly having been damaged the most. Its multicoloured eyes, or eyeglasses as Videe realized, were now showing TV static. One of its lenses had a deep crack in it and oil seeped around the rim, giving the impression of tears pouring down. A puddle of the black liquid was pooling from its now open mouth. Its features being pulled in a permanent grin unsettled her deeply.
Yet, there was something strangely familiar about it.
She had seen that face before. But where?
She approached the broken machine, a stupid move she knew, but she needed to be sure. She noticed that there was noise coming from its mouth and leaned in closer to listen. It was nothing but garbage noise on the surface, but if she concentrated, she could barely make out a voice. It was like listening to a radio that couldn't get a clear signal.
"[Press F1 For] HELP, [Press F1 For] HELP, [Press F1 For] HELP, [Press F1 For] HELP, [Press F1…" it repeated endlessly.
"F1?" said Videe, raising an eyebrow. "What is that supposed to mean?"
Instantly the robot began lurching forward, making Videe jump back in surprise and fall on her backside. Its eyes returned to normal, but it paid no attention to her as it was busy gasping for air and coughing wildly.
She realized that it was choking.
Its one working hand clawed at it's throat as a slow flow of oil began to sputter from its mouth. Just when Videe thought that it was gonna start projectile vomiting, it violently spat something at her feet before its eyes returned to static and collapsed on the ground once more.
Videe sat there in silent shock and disgust. Why the hell did it start choking when she said F1? She looked down at her feet, expecting a large glob of oil but found a tiny person splayed out, face down on the ground instead. She crouched forward to inspect the little figure covered in oil residue. It was wearing a black blazer and white dress pants. They had little feathery white wings on its back, and strangely, a tiny halo was perched above its head. Videe gently poked it to check if it was still alive.
The tiny being responded by twitching a wing, and slowly getting up. Videe stared wide eyed as the little angel thing cradled its head and placed a tiny hand on her shoe to balance itself. Once they were confident that they could move without anything falling off, they looked at Videe and waved. She felt her blood run cold as she instantly recognized who it was.
"S-Spamton?" whispered Videe, barely believing her own words.
His little white face tilted its head in response.
It was impossible. She hadn't seen her brother in years. The long pointed nose was definitely an Addison family trait, but the glasses were definitely new. It too sported an unerving grin, with little red dots on its cheeks and two small grooves on its lower jaw, akin to a puppet. Millions of emotions buzzed around her head, the entire situation going off the deep end. One question circled her head over and over.
How?
How, for Queen's sake, did you get even smaller?
Back then, Spamton was the shortest of all the Addison siblings, much to his dismay. Being only four foot tall. The Spamton standing before looked about five inches tall at the least.
"What hap-" she began, but cut herself off when Spamton started flapping its little wings and flew around her before stopping at her head. Viddy froze when Spamton gently patted the top of her head, unsure how to react to the gesture. She felt a sudden tingling sensation on the palm of her hands and the side of her ribs. The cuts and bruises she got running away from the robot were miraculously healed. She flexed her hands experimentally. The stinging had stopped.
"Oh!...euh...thank you?" she stammered out. Spamton seemed pleased with himself and started flying away but Videe grabbed hold of him. He squeaked in surprise, and struggled in vain in her grasp.
"No wait! What the hell is going on, Spamton?! You were alive?! Where have you been?! Why were you inside that thing?! Why are you smaller? Why was it-" she noticed Spamton shaking his head furiously.
"N-no? No what, Spamton?"
Upon hearing the name, he pointed at himself and crossed his arms making an X.
Videe narrowed her eyes, "You're….not Spamton?"
He nodded.
"Wait, if you're not Spamton, then why do you look like him? Where is he then?"
The little angel pointed at the giant unconscious form on the ground. Videe's eyes grew wide at the realization and laughed nervously. "Y-you're kidding right? Spamton isn't…"
She approached the crumpled robot, observing its face closely. The pointed nose, the jet-black hair… That grin of his was basically his trademark.
That thing was Spamton.
Her little brother.
"What the fuck…" she mumured to herself. She gave the mini Spamton a squeeze by accident, prompting it to squeak once more.
"Oh shoot!… I'm so sorry…" she let go of him, and he flew next to her head with a look of concern on his face. "I-I just…. This doesn't make sense!? What happened to him?"
The mini Spamton shrugged apologetically, wishing he could give a better answer. Videe stared at the mangled body of her brother; her knees grew weak as she eventually collapsed on them.
Was this her fault?
When she heard he got evicted, she didn't know how to feel. That sick part of her was happy that he got what he deserved, but deep down, hiding in the back of her brain, she felt bad. Bad enough that she convinced one of her brothers to check on him back at the mansion, being too much of a coward to do it herself. When he came back saying that the only thing he found in his room was an old telephone that was playing horrible static noises, that was that. Nothing more was said. The subject of Spamton became taboo for the siblings.
They didn't even bother searching for him. As far as they knew, Spamton had ran away with whatever was left of his funds.
And now... he's a monster. Whatever was left of the white ad program was turned into this sick, twisted caricature of himself.
The little angel fretted over her. He was patting her desperately trying to heal her, thinking she was hurt again. Videe brushed him away gently, "I'm fine, uhm… mini Spamton. " she sighed, pinching the ridge of her nose." I'm just… fine."
She was the eldest of the siblings. She was supposed to protect her family. It fustrated her how easily she moved on with her life.
How easy it was to forget him. Wasn't he family?
Videe quickly stood back up, scaring mini Spamton. She had a determined look on her face and clenched her fists.
"I need to make things right." she said out loud. Mini Spamton looked at her quizzically as she pulled out a cell phone from her purse and punched a number. The phone rang a couple of times before being answered.
"Hey, Cursor! It's Videe. You remember that 'no questions asked' favor you owe me? Well, I'm cashing in it now."
The voice on the other end sounded surprised.
"Yes, now. I have something big that I need to move in at my place and I know you guys can do it without wrecking my door frame too much. Don't worry, I'll compensate for whatever you and your crew need to rent, and I'll pay you for the trouble. I just... I'll text you my location."
Videe ended the call, and looked at mini Spamton who was flapping beside her. "Think you can help me out too?"
Mini Spamton nodded vigorously, eager to help.
"Is it possible for you to heal him?" she asked, "At least enough so he doesn't bleed out everywhere."
The little angel thought about this. He never tried healing his other half before, he only ever healed whoever said the keyword then poofed out of existence. He shrugged in response, there was no harm in trying. Mini Spamton flew over Spamton's head, and gingerly patted him. Videe saw green lights sparkling over the various gashes on his body, mending them. The flow of oil slowed, but the deeper wounds, Videe observed, were unaffected. Clearly he needed some proper healing, and thankfully, she had just the stuff at home. Darkner food wasn't only just tasty, it could heal someone's wounds in an instant. What Spamton needed was a nice home cooked meal for a boost of health.
A tiny yawn snapped her from her thoughts. Mini Spamton fluttered over to her, looking exhausted.
"I guess healing people really takes its toll on you." Videe said, cupping her hands for mini Spamton to land on. He nodded, and gently floated down into her hands. Stretching its tiny limbs, he yawned one last time before curling into a ball and falling fast asleep. Videe couldn't help but smile a little, as her actual brother would do the same thing. This strange, mini version of him still weirded her out, but the way he acted reminded her of the better days.
When they were still a family.
She carefully tucked him into her purse, making sure he would still be somewhat comfortable in there, and returned her gaze to Spamton. He layed perfectly still. Only the occasional wheezy breath coming from its gaping mouth gave any indication that he was still alive. Videe put a hand on his forehead, feeling the cold metal under her touch.
"I know I don't deserve your forgiveness." she said quietly, "But, let me help you, it's the least I can do."
She sat next to Spamton, and hugged his head.